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The second Elimination Chamber Match of this year's pay-per-view event was announced on SmackDown.
While Adam Pearce initially booked Roman Reigns to defend his Universal Championship inside the unforgiving structure, the Champion and Paul Heyman forced the WWE official to change his decision. Now, the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match will determine the number one contender for Reigns' title.
However, the winner of the Chamber match will challenge the Universal Champion at Elimination Chamber itself and not at WrestleMania. This is possibly being done to make it different from the WWE Championship match at the event, while wrapping up the story in time for Royal Rumble winner Edge to challenge Roman Reigns at 'Mania.
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All six competitors are now known, and with the match being for a shot at the title, rather than the title itself, things are a lot less predictable. Around half of the Elimination Chamber participants have a realistic chance of winning the match, with two Superstars standing out in particular.
Anyway, here are the chances of every Superstar in the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match ranked, from least to most likely.
#6 King Corbin and #5 Sami Zayn don't stand a chance of winning the Elimination Chamber Match
Since they qualified for the Elimination Chamber together and have next to no chance of winning it, let's rank King Corbin and Sami Zayn together at the bottom of this list. The two heels defeated Rey and Dominik Mysterio to qualify for next Sunday's grueling match.
Neither man would be a compelling challenger for the villainous Roman Reigns due to the lack of a heel-babyface dynamic. Corbin is the second most detestable Superstar on SmackDown after Reigns, while Zayn is too much of a heat-seeker to truly have an effective program with the Tribal Chief.
However, the former Intercontinental Champion is placed above Corbin for a couple of reasons. For starters, a match between Reigns and Zayn is still way fresher than one between Reigns and Corbin. There could also be some fun segments involving his documentary crew.
If Sami Zayn somehow sneaks a victory in the Elimination Chamber Match and gets squashed by Roman Reigns on the same night, he will have some fresh material to complain about. His conspiracy theory schtick is great, making him one of the most entertaining stars on SmackDown.
#4 Kevin Owens could face Roman Reigns for a fourth time at Elimination Chamber
Following his Stunner on Roman Reigns to close last week's SmackDown, Kevin Owens remains in the Universal Title hunt heading into Elimination Chamber. He will always be a threat in any match he is in, thanks to his incredible work inside the ring and as a character.
A fourth match against Reigns at Elimination Chamber would surely be of high quality, but WWE runs the risk of oversaturating KO as a main-event babyface. He would lose to the Tribal Chief again, similar to what happened the last three times they faced each other.
Owens should move on from Reigns and begin his own WrestleMania program at Elimination Chamber. A confrontation between him and Sami Zayn inside the dreaded structure is a must. It would be KO's first interaction with his wrestling soulmate in their current personas on SmackDown.
A 'Mania match between a babyface Kevin Owens and a heel Sami Zayn sounds like a fantastic idea, with the seeds being planted inside the Elimination Chamber. KO may be pushed out of the world title scene next weekend, but expect him to perform a headline-grabbing dive during the match.
#3 Jey Uso could lay down for Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber
While Jey Uso winning at Elimination Chamber would be much more interesting than Kevin Owens getting another Universal Title shot, it is not exactly a likely outcome. He is essentially Roman Reigns' representative in this match, who would have a task to win and then lay down for his cousin.
It could lead to some intriguing storytelling. Towards the end of the Chamber match, Reigns could go completely rogue and attack every remaining Superstar. This would gift Uso the victory and a free pass for the Universal Champion at Elimination Chamber.
If he were to pull out a victory that way, Jimmy Uso might make his return from injury in the subsequent Championship match later on at Elimination Chamber. He could either motivate his brother to fight Roman Reigns or simply turn heel and join the family stable.
Either scenario would make for some great storytelling. The family drama between Reigns and The Usos has been one of the best stories in WWE over the past few years and Elimination Chamber could bring it back, at least until everybody is on the same page.
#2 Daniel Bryan could have his Universal title match vs. Roman Reigns at Elimination Chamber
Now, let's move onto the two Superstars who are seemingly the favorites to win the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match and go on to face Roman Reigns later in the night. Daniel Bryan is the most accomplished name in the match, and a mouth-watering clash with the Universal Champion has been pending for a while.
He seemed to be pegged as Reigns' challenger for WrestleMania, but with Edge returning into the mix, Bryan might get his shot at Elimination Chamber. He is due a big victory after losing quite a lot over the past month on SmackDown. Bryan could get that victory at the pay-per-view, but a couple of factors make this a tad bit uncertain.
There is a lot of mileage in a feud between Roman Reigns and Daniel Bryan - so much so that it would be impossible to tell the story between them at Elimination Chamber itself. It requires at least a few weeks of buildup and WWE would be smart not to waste it on a one-night story arc.
Reigns has to defend the Universal Championship against Bryan at some point during his title reign, but it should happen after WrestleMania. That way, the quality of SmackDown will remain consistent following the Show of Shows. Based on star power alone, it is still very possible that Daniel Bryan wins the Elimination Chamber Match and puts Roman Reigns over later on.
#1 Cesaro could have a career-defining night at Elimination Chamber
This might be a bold shout, but Cesaro might be the favorite to win the SmackDown Elimination Chamber Match. He was languishing as a heel in the tag team division for far too long, but things have changed over the past month. Following a contract renewal with WWE, Cesaro has been elevated up the card.
The Swiss Superman holds multiple clean victories over Daniel Bryan and teamed with the 5-time WWE World Champion to earn his place in the Elimination Chamber match. The underlying issue of the story between Bryan and Roman Reigns being too rich to tell in one night does not exist with Cesaro.
Aside from their tremendous in-ring chemistry, Cesaro and Reigns do not have much of a history together. This allows WWE to carve their own story between the two at Elimination Chamber. Cesaro could continue to build his momentum by winning the six-man match before taking the Universal Champion to the limit.
WWE did showcase the Swiss Superman in a strong light on SmackDown, as he was attacked from behind by Seth Rollins before winning his qualifying match against Bryan. This might have been done to condition viewers to believe that Cesaro is tough enough to win the Elimination Chamber and face Roman Reigns later on the show.
A Chamber match victory and a world title match against the biggest star in the company - both in the same night - can potentially catapult Cesaro into stardom. He already has the in-ring excellence and immense strength to thrive at the top of the card, as will be evident at Elimination Chamber.
This could be the start of something special for Cesaro, a man who 100 deserves to be a main-event star in WWE. Elimination Chamber could be the biggest night of his career, even if he does not win the Universal Championship.
